Latest Articles
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Endangered wolves sacrificed for budget deal
Although Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama stood firm against Republican attempts to repeal clean air and clean water protections, wolves (such as the famous Limpy) in the Northern Rockies weren’t so lucky. Under pressure from ranching interests in Montana and Idaho, as well as anti-wolf zealots in those states, Reid and Obama […]
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Japan cannot catch a break
Did Japan do something to anger the universe? (Don’t answer that, Jerry Falwell.) After a massive offshore quake, a devastating tsunami, and a nuclear crisis, the beleaguered country is now being treated to aftershocks that would make most quakes feel silly. As for the nuclear status … who knows? It probably isn’t good. Aftershocks ruin […]
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The economic case for on-street bike parking
This is the fourth column in a series focusing on the economics of bicycling. Bicycling and driving have one thing in common that is almost universally frustrating, time consuming, friction causing, and potentially expensive. Parking. No matter how seamless your ride across town, no matter how well-timed the traffic lights or low-conflict the bike lanes, […]
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Natural gas from fracking is worse for climate than coal, says new study
Photo: Erland HowdenNatural gas obtained through "fracking" — the increasingly common process of splitting open underground deposits with high pressure chemicals — now has an even bigger strike against it than its potential to contaminate regional water supplies. Fracking, it turns out, yields more global warming per unit of energy than coal — at least […]
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EPA is safe, for now
Well, the government isn’t being shut down, and the castrate-the-EPA riders have been stripped from the budget bill. For now, at least, the world is safe for those brutes at the EPA to keep oppressing helpless rich, powerful industry giants who only want to kill the planet a little. Don’t get too comfortable, though; this […]
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Are Canada’s disastrous tar sands coming your way?
Alberta’s scenic tar sands.Photo: Suncor EnergyThis essay was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. For years, “not in my backyard” has been the battle cry of residents in Cape Cod who stand opposed to an offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound. The giant turbines will forever mar the beauty […]
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‘Let’s talk about sex’ — and what American teenagers don’t know about it [VIDEO]
“Every day in America, 10,000 teenagers catch an STD, 2,400 young girls become pregnant, and 55 young people are infected with HIV.” Those sobering stats are from a documentary airing on TLC tonight, April 9, at 10 p.m. / 9 central. Let’s Talk About Sex is directed by James Houston, a fashion photographer who came […]
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Friday music blogging: Paul Simon
In sixth grade, when I was about 11 years old, I used to spend a lot of time at my friend Luke’s house. His parents were more bohemian than mine (of course these things are relative in Cookeville, TN) and they were always playing old vinyl of ’60s and ’70s singer-songwriters. Back then I was […]
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Ten radical posters to rally green patriots [SLIDESHOW]
My fellow Americans — my fellow humans! Our planet is in deep, deep trouble. And it needs you to do your patriotic duty fighting climate change. Green Patriot Posters is a project dedicated to getting out that message — by inspiring the modern equivalent of the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” poster from World War II. […]
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FX’s ‘Justified’ features mountaintop-removal mining controversy [VIDEO]
One of the best new shows to hit TV in years is Justified, on FX. For one thing, it’s got one of my favorite actors, Timothy Olyphant, doing a variation on the strong, silent, badass type he played in Deadwood — this time as a U.S. marshal. Timothy Olyphant on FX’s Justified. Justified is about […]
